Workpiece hold-down clamps are used to secure a workpiece to a fixture plate during machining, measurement, inspection, etc. More particularly, workpiece hold-down clamps apply a downward force to the top surface of a workpiece so as to force the workpiece downwardly against the top surface of the fixture plate, whereby to hold the workpiece in position on the fixture plate.
One particular type of workpiece hold-down clamp is designed to secure a workpiece to a fixture plate during manufacturing quality inspections, i.e., where the workpiece must be held stationary while it is measured and/or otherwise inspected. With this type of workpiece hold-down clamp, the clamp must generate sufficient force (“light-duty”) to hold a workpiece securely in place on the fixture plate while the workpiece is inspected (e.g., with a coordinate measuring machine, optical comparator, etc.), but the workpiece hold-down clamp does not need to generate the high level of force (“heavy-duty”) that would be required during a metal stock removal operation (e.g., machining, drilling, etc.). In this respect it will be appreciated that reliably securing the workpiece to the fixture plate during inspection is generally quite important since, if the workpiece should move during inspection, the inspection points will be skewed and the quality of the inspection compromised.
Of course, these light-duty workpiece hold-down clamps may also be used for other, non-inspection applications (e.g., light metal manufacturing processes and/or woodworking processes) where only light holding forces are required. By way of example but not limitation, these light-duty workpiece hold-down clamps may also be used during laser etching, parts marking, soldering, routing, etc., and/or for applying a light force to a wood part so as to help ensure accuracy during drilling, cutting, etc.
Unfortunately, existing light-duty workpiece hold-down clamps are not entirely satisfactory. More particularly, existing light-duty workpiece hold-down clamps all tend to suffer from one or more disadvantages, including but not limited to: (i) time-consuming set-up and take-down; (ii) restricted access to the workpiece; (iii) the need to use hand tools to assist in the removal or insertion of a workpiece; (iv) cost; (v) restricted methods of use; (vi) an inability to scale to different sizes; (vii) an inability to be used with standard fixture plates; (viii) a need to manufacture the workpiece hold-down clamps out of specific materials; and/or (ix) an inability to be used with workpieces of different sizes and/or configurations.